A Change Of Two Hearts
by Ash
Summary: Marco and Tobias of the future go back to avenge their friends deaths


THE CHANGE OF TWO HEARTS BY ASHMORIA 

****************************************************************************************************** **Well, welcome to my third Animorphs fanfic! I can't believe it four already! As you've probably noticed I'm a big Marco writer so this story has yet more Marco content buuuuttt...don't run away, Tobias is the other main character in this so Tobias fans might like it too. This is a story that is based about 15 years in the future I believe so if you hate these stories leave now. It's corny and mushy and stuff, that's how I always write fanfics so beware. Enjoy! And remember to send me comments! Peace+luv y'all Ash!** **Disclaimer: These character do not, will not, shall not ever belong to me. They belong to K.A Applegate and Scholastic...blah, blah, blah** ****************************************************************************************************** 

MARCO My name is Marco. Just Marco, I stopped having a last name years ago. Longer than I can remember....Actually if you walked up to me today and said "Hey Marco...what's your last name?" I really don't think I could tell you. So I'm just Marco...not that it matters anymore. The battle is over. We lost. The Yeerks beat us..... If there's one thing I've learned through all the pain and all the suffering was that things change, people change. I never thought that we, the Animorphs, would ever change. I thought that we would always be the starry eyed, always-get-up-and-come- back-for-more wannabe super heroes that we were all those years ago. But I was wrong. I never thought I would change either....but I was wrong about that too. I sat at the edge of a small clear pond that was in the center in of a forest somewhere in the center of this planet we call Earth...who knows if it's even called Earth anymore, it felt like forever since I had even seen civilization the Yeerks could have named Earth something else, or even a number. Earth; Planet 4....the first of many of the planets the Yeerks would take over and enslave. I picked up a rock and let it skim across the smooth surface of the pond then sat up with tired shock when I caught a glimpse of my reflection. It was still surprising. I was at least 23 now and I had grown a lot. Well, I guess I'd still be short compared to some people but I'd filled out. Being out in the middle of nowhere did have it's advantages. I had been able to get into pretty good shape and I was proud of my large upper arms...that's about all I'm proud of. Gazing emptily into the pond's reflection I found myself looking at a young Hispanic man I didn't even recognize. I had let my hair grow out a little and it hung to just past my ears. Some loose strands feel across my brown eyes. Tobias had told me that I'd changed, I didn't even notice until he said something. He said I lost my spirit...or whatever I had...it's like all the happy, witty, jokester had disappeared. I hardly said anything, kept to myself and wondered what had gone wrong. Looking into the brown eyes that stared back at me I agreed with Tobias. The eyes that I looked into were empty....hollow. But you could see the pain and sorrow I held dancing in shadows across them. I *had* changed.... I turned to look at Tobias who was perched on a tree nearby...he was watching me...protecting me. We were the only ones left. It hurt to think about it....but it was reality. Jake and Cassie had died together, they way they wanted it...Jake had killed Visser 3 and well, it was after Visser had taken a fatal blow to Cassie. A couple of carefully shot Dracon beams later I was holding the dying body of my best friend...I squeezed my eyes shut as I remembered..... "Jake...please, you CAN'T die on us..." I cried....I was still a child..only 17 years old. It WASN'T fair! I was only a KID! "Marco..you know I'll always be with you...but this is a war, people die." Jake whispered. "Not you Jake! Why *you*?? YOU can't die!" I was sobbing now, "JAKE!! PLEASE!" Jake smiled hauntingly, a smile that would plague my sleep for years later, "Marco..You're my best friend...I'd do anything for you, and I promise I'll always be around, watching over you....we all will...don't give up Marco, don't let them win. Goodbye my friend, I love you." He reached out and placed his open palm on top of mine. His eyes closed slowly and I lay down on his chest, his pale blue shirt soaking with my tears. "Goodbye." I whispered. I opened my eyes and gazed painfully at the pond's surface. *I love you too Jake* I thought pushing the rising emotion back to the deep hole I locked all my emotions in since that day. *Marco?* Tobias asked softly. I wasn't the only one that had changed. Tobias was as humble and soft spoken as I was, if not more. Even though he was still a hawk there was a strange look in his razor sharp eyes that wouldn't be in a normal everyday red tailed hawk. As I had lost Jake he had lost Rachel. She hadn't died. But to some degree it was worse....she was now a controller along with Ax. They hadn't gotten away after a terrible battle a few years back when we, out of pure desperation, attacked a yeerk pool. It was a stupid move and we'd lost two of friends and our secret was out. "Yeah?" I muttered. *You alright?* He asked worriedly. I couldn't blame him for being worried. We were all we had left in the world. Me and Tobias had grown really close not at a me and Jake level but we cared about one other enough to know that if we lost each other there really wouldn't be much left to live for. "Yeah, I'm okay....you ready to go?" I asked standing up. Tobias turned to face me, *Ready as I'll ever be...Are you sure you wanna go back Marco?* I looked warmly at Tobias, "You really don't have to go if you don't want to Tobias. I'll be okay be myself...but I HAVE to go back." I heard Tobias sigh loudly, *No, Marco...You're right. We can't hide forever. And y'know I'm going stand by you all the way.* I nodded thankfully, "Then...let's go." I started to morph Osprey. I watched unperturbed as my mouth sprouted a beak and my arms and legs covered with feathers. Seconds later, I opened my newly morphed wings and jetted towards the sky. 

We flew over mountains and treetops, dark continents I didn't even recognize until I saw the small town all those many years ago I had called home. It had about 3 years since I'd been here...I can't say I ran away, even though I did. *Oh my God,* Tobias said as we landed and de-morphed. He gazed around from a perch of my now human shoulder. "How?" I wondered. Everything was more or less destroyed. Rubble spilled on to the once busy streets and buildings where just shattered ruins of looming memory. I kept telling myself that it was a war but NOTHING prepared me for this. My home, was completely wiped out. "Decide to come back did you?" A voice behind us asked, I whirled to look into a familiar face. *Erek?* Tobias asked. Erek had reformatted his hologram to look like the same Erek only older. He had a faint smirk on his face, but underneath I could his anger. "So come back to enjoy the scenic view?" Erek asked coldly. I looked at Erek with emotion filled eyes. "Erek, listen. I'm sorry I ran away. But there was NOTHING I could do..." I said softly, I didn't meet his holographic eyes. "Do you have any idea what I've done?? I'VE KILLED! I went directly against the Chee code and killed a living being, only because you *ANIMORPHS* decided to take a three year vacation! And I thought I was your friend." Erek cried, Erek mad is one thing but Erek pissed off is a totally different. It's just downright scary. *Erek! We're sorry..I just don't know what to say..just we're sorry....we're so so sorry.* Tobias said softly. Tobias said exactly what was on my mind. What could we say to Erek? We couldn't make an excuse for what we did because there was none. Erek's face softened slightly and he stared at me and Tobias for a minute. Then he smiled, "No, I shouldn't have said that. I knew you ran away for a reason...I just overreacted...I mean, I remember what you two were like after Jake and Cassie died. Marco, you got so sick from depression...running away WAS the right thing to do. If you would have stayed you probably would have ended up dead anyway....don't worry about it! All is forgiven. So uhhh, why exactly DID you come back?" Tobias spoke up, *We're not going to run away again Erek. We've come back to fight....or die trying. We are the Animorphs...well, the last ones anyway, we shouldn't have abandoned our fight...especially since we are the only ones with the powers to fight back.* Erek looked skeptical, "You're going to fight the entire Yeerk Empire...alone?" I nodded, "Yeah, why not? Like we haven't done crazier things." Erek smiled, "I don't know guys, this is pretty deep......are you sure you don't need any help?" *Well, since you volunteered....* Tobias said with a little laugh. Erek nodded at me, "Yeah, sure..I'm in. What's the plan?" 

****************************************************************************************************** THE YEERKS A young blond woman laughed lightly and tossed her long blond hair. "I told you putting that spy on that Chee would come in handy." She said with an evil smirk to the other in the room with her. Which just happened to be looming blue form of an Andalite. She stared at the screen filled with a picture of Erek "the meddling" Chee and two new comers. Well, to the blond woman they weren't new. A young Hispanic man with dark hair and warm brown eyes stared around him on the screen. One time she was positive he had seen the little video camera. But he turned back to Erek and the woman let out a sigh. The hawk on the young man's shoulder stood guard and seemed a little over protective of the Hispanic man. His razor hawk eyes scrutinizing his surroundings. *Yes, it was an excellent idea Visser 4, who knew the last of the Animorphs would return?* The Andalite answered, watching the screen with cold calculation. The woman smiled evilly. She ignored the tiny voice in the back of her mind. It was her host, Rachel the ex Animorph and she had just realized that her friends had returned. *TOBIAS!! MARCO!!* She cried in surprise and horror. She knew how much danger her friends were in. *No! Please..Don't hurt them...please!! I'll do anything..Just pleeeeaasee don't hurt them!!* The yeerk just laughed mockingly. Rachel got angry. *If you lay one finger on either of them you have my word, I will kill you! YOU HEAR ME? I WILL KILL YOU!* The Yeerk ignored the cries and turned back to the tv monitor her fingers tracing around Marco and Tobias' frames. "Soon, the last of the Animorphs will be mine...." The yeerk laughed. The Andalite in the corner, once Aximilli, joined in too and together they watched their doomed prey walk towards the shelter of near by ruins. ****************************************************************************************************** MARCO "So what? You wanna bust into a Yeerk pool and free Rachel and Ax? Sorry guys but that's insane." Erek said holding his hands up defensively. I laughed, "Aren't I the person that's supposed to call the plans insane?" Tobias spoke up, *If Rachel and Ax are still controllers we won't have any chance of winning at all. They know us inside and out. All of our morphs, our fears. They know how to really get to us...If they stay Yeerks than me and Marco are as good as dead. Plus, if we free them there will be four Animorphs and we'll be a lot stronger in the long run.* Erek looked at the hawk with surprise, "Tobias, I'm impressed. When did you learn battle tactics?" Tobias shrugged, *I had a lot of time on my hands, Marco? I'm gonna go human now.* I nodded and watched him morph. It was weird. As Tobias started to grow older in hawk years we realized his human morph would not grow older with it so Ax had somehow, by a process he still hasn't told us about, messed with Tobias' human DNA so that it would age with the hawk body. Tobias now human morph was taller than me, and didn't have that lanky look from when we were kids. His blond hair had been trimmed to the same length and style as mine and his clear blue eyes held the hawk's edge. I'm sure those bullies who had picked on him in school would think twice about it now. Erek held up a piece of paper with the blue prints for the Yeerk Pool. He had done some reconnaissance a while ago and picked this up. I rubbed my hands together. "We can get in here. It's relatively unguarded. The Yeerks are pretty cocky, they don't think security is an issue. I mean most humans are slaves now and you two disappeared..." Erek said. I winced, then nodded. "Alright. We do this and we do this tonight." I said. I looked meaningfully at Tobias, who nodded at me. Erek smiled, "Let's do it." ****************************************************************************************************** TOBIAS 

We strolled quickly down the street near the Yeerk pool entrance. I was human at the moment because I looked too obvious as a hawk, that and as a hawk I wouldn't be able to play with the fully armed Dracon beam Erek had given me. Erek had stolen a large artillery from the Yeerks 4 months ago. I felt sorry for the Chee. While me and Marco hid in some forest, Erek was here fighting our battle and disobeying the Chee code against no violence. We had probably dishonored Erek. It stung. I looked at the worried eyes of Marco. Right after Jake and Cassie died I'd realized how strong Marco was. His heart was huge but he hid it with jokes. All those years he made bad jokes he was hiding the fear and pain and depression he was usually feeling. After our friends died, Marco had fallen into a deep hole of depression, he didn't sleep, he didn't eat, he just sorta withered away . For a long time I thought he would die but one day he just snapped out of it. He had lost all that joking, laughing life that he used to have but he was alive. Close to a year later during one of our last fights against the Yeerks Marco was forced to do something I couldn't even imagine. He killed his own mother. It was my fault he did it too. Marco's mom had a Dracon Beam on me, and Marco had two choices. Let his mom kill me and probably save her from the Yeerks or kill his mom to save me. Marco kept his promise to the Animorphs and destroyed the one thing he had been fighting for all these years. He didn't fall back into depression though, even though I know it crushed him. He knew if he got depressed again I would feel guilty about it and he didn't want that. I *did* feel guilty but I gained a respect for Marco that I couldn't even explain. Marco was a lot stronger than what most people gave him credit for. We had lost a lot in this war, more than I care to remember but now, now we would fight back. One more flailing hit before the end came. I'd make sure the Yeerks didn't forget us anytime soon. Beside us Erek motioned to the door of a nearby building. We approached slowly and Erek punched in a 6 number code. The door whizzed open and we stepped into the world of the Yeerk Pool. It looked just like I had remembered it only bigger, MUCH BIGGER. Hundreds of controllers roamed around purposefully and paid us no attention. Marco frowned, "Is it just me or was that too easy?" "Yeah, your right there's something not right about this." I replied. Erek glared at us, "Well, yeah, if you keep talking like that people might get a little suspicious." Marco nodded, "Okay, okay..I'm shutting up," He gestured to a nearby bank of computers, "I'll take care of the kandrona first. Then we can figure out what to do about Ax and Rachel." "No need," Erek cut in. He pulled a weird looking thing that looked like demented pliers from his pocket, "a lovely little Yeerk gadget used to help Yeerks out of hosts ears. But I'm sure it would work in removal too...though it might hurt a little." Marco rolled his eyes, "And you found the need to tell us this NOW?" I smiled at Marco, "The important thing is that he DID tell us. And I don't think Rachel will mind a little pain if it means getting that Yeerk out of her....least she won't if she's the same Rachel we used to know." Marco nodded, "Are you kidding? This is Xena we're talking about. I'm gonna go give that kandrona a little tune up now ok? Cover me." We watched as Marco walked up to the Kandrona and exchanged conversation with the controller there. It didn't take long for them to start arguing and Marco knocked him flat. He reached up and pounded a few buttons to switch off the electricity and pandemonium broke loose in the dark. "Yo Tobias? Where are you dude?" I heard Marco cry. "Right here! Y'know I think the Yeerks know we're here now Marco." I said as I jutted my hand out to find his. "I think you may be right." Marco answered as he clasped my hand. Beside me I heard Erek speak up, "The Visser quarters are to the left I believe." "My left or your left?" I cried. "Who's bright idea was this again?!" Erek muttered over the screams of the confused controllers. "AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!" I heard Marco cry. His hand was ripped violently from mine. "Tobias! Erek! Something's got me!" I heard his Dracon beam clatter to the floor. That's when the lights blinked on and my heart dropped to my feet. The confused Controllers and Hork Bajir we THOUGHT we heard were now armed with Dracon beams and had formed a tight circle around us. Standing in front of me and evil grin plastered on her face was Rachel. Beside her standing amazingly big now was Ax his large Andalite arms wrapped around a squirming Marco. Rachel laughed coldly, "Tobias. Welcome home." ****************************************************************************************************** MARCO 

"Ax! Put me down!" I cried, kicking wildly. Ax looked at me, *Now why would I want to do that?* "BECAUSE YOUR GONNA FREAKIN BREAK ME IN HALF!" I screamed. Ax shrugged and placed me on the floor but kept a firm lock on my arms. I struggled for a few more minutes until I realized it was just a waste of energy. I looked up at Tobias who was staring at Rachel, his blue eyes were filled with emotion. Shock, horror, surprise, confusion...love. It was a trap! It had all been a trap....I would have slapped myself for my stupidity be Ax probably wasn't going to let me do that. It was so obvious too! This time we probably wouldn't get out. This was the end...it was over....the only thing we could do now was delay the inevitable. Distraction, we needed a distraction. I lashed out a foot at Rachel who whirled to look at me. Tobias took the flash of inattention and snatched a Dracon beam from a nearby controller that wasn't paying attention. He pointed it at Rachel's head. Rachel smiled, "Ah, now Tobias we both know you would never be able to do it." Tobias loaded the Dracon, "Watch me." He threatened. Rachel laughed, "I was hoping it didn't have to come to this. Tobias you can make this easy or very hard. Put the Dracon down or else." "Or else what?" he hissed. Ax twisted my arm...hard. "AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!" I cried in agony. "MARCO!" Tobias cried. I looked at Tobias, I could see what he was thinking. I'd murdered my own mother for him, now he was wondering if he could kill his first love Rachel for me. I gasped up at him, "No, Tobias. I'm not worth it. DON'T...I'm telling you now...DON'T....AHHHHHHHHHHH!" Ax twisted harder. Tobias looked at me with painful eyes, "No..I can't I...." Silently he put down the Dracon, "Here, it's down..now let him go." Ax released the full nelson of doom but kept a firm grip on my shoulders, Rachel smiled, "I knew you were a sensible guy...I mean *bird*" Erek gazed at Rachel, "You've been spying on me haven't you?" He asked angrily. "Yes Chee. And boy are we glad we did...you more or less delivered the last Animorphs right to our front door step." She replied gesturing to me. Erek's head dropped, "It's all my fault." Tobias turned to him, "Erek it's not your fault, we should have known it was going to be a trap." "Well, no worries my Animorph friends, soon you will be one of us." Rachel said almost happily. Rachel made a shooing gesture with her hand and Ax yanked me around. Tobias and Erek followed. We were slowly led from the Yeerk pool and to a nearby hallway. As Erek passed me I felt him slip something into my hand. It was the Yeerk remover! I caught Erek's eye and he nodded gently. I only had one chance to do this and it was now. I stomped down on Ax's hoof and then kicked him in the leg. He let go of my shoulders long enough for me to whirl around and throw myself on his back. Then reaching up I put the pliers to Ax's ear and as he threw me off his back the Yeerk came flying out. Ax howled in pain. I landed hard the air knocked out of me. Ax blinked and gazed around in confusion, *What? Hunh?* he asked. Then he realized he was no longer being controlled, *I'M FREE!* ****************************************************************************************************** 

TOBIAS 

I looked around, Ax was now free and I'd never seen the Andalite happier in my life. Marco sat on the floor gazing disgusted at the yeerk. He stood up and squashed it flat. Ax turned to him. *Marco! I thank you so much for freeing me from that Yeerk filth. I hope I did not harm you.* He said. Marco grinned, "Nah, it's okay Ax. It's just nice to have you back buddy." Ax did a Andalite version of smile, *And I am glad to see you again also Marco and also you friend Tobias.* He said turning to me. I laughed, "It HAS been a while hasn't it?" Erek cut in, "Sorry to break up this Kodak moment and all but don't you think we should get away while we can?" Marco shook his head and looked at me, "No, we don't leave til we get Rachel back." I silently thanked him and he nodded back a mute 'your welcome' "Well, I see time hasn't made you anymore sane." Erek muttered, shrugging lightly, "let's do it." "IMPOSSIBLE!" I heard someone cry. I whirled to see Rachel standing shocked in the hallway. Marco threw the pliers in my direction. I looked down at them then at Rachel and back again. I knew what I had to do but it didn't make it any easier. I turned to see Marco morphing gorilla. "So you wanna fight do you Marco?" She hissed, "Well, it's a fight you want it's a fight you'll get." I watched as she started to change into the 800 pound grizzly bear. Marco lashed out with a huge hand and Rachel dove at him. Marco tried to dodge but she was too fast and he went down. She brought up a huge paw and whacked him hard in the face......this is where I jumped onto her back. I struggled up to her head and stuck the pliers in her big bear ear. "Sorry Rachel." I whispered and pulled. "Hrrrrowww Yeowwww!" The bear roared as the yeerk flew out. The grizzly slumped to the floor. The bear lay still for a few minutes and Marco demorphed from under her. Ax reached out and pulled his tiny, dwarfed form from under Rachel's immense body. "Rachel?" I asked softly. Marco placed a reassuring human hand on my shoulder. "Rachel??" I asked again, my voice a painful whisper. The large bear started to shrink and the hair disappeared. After a few minutes the human form of Rachel emerged. Slowly she sat up and smiled at me. "Tobias?" She cried. I ran to her. It must have looked like one of those corny scenes where the two people run across a flowered filled field to each other in slow motion but I really didn't care what it looked like. I ran up and held her tightly. "TOBIAS!" She cried happily. Marco walked up and smiled at Rachel, "Hey Xena." Rachel separated from me for a minute and gave Marco a small hug, " Thanks for coming after me Marco." Marco shrugged, "No problem." He pointed to me, "Bird boy really missed you though, y'know I think he really cares about you." I blushed when Rachel turned back to me, "I missed you too Tobias." I held her again, and this time I wasn't going to let go. ZAAAPTHPPPPP! I whirled as a Dracon beam sizzled by. "You're not getting a way that easy!" Came a shriek. A lunatic woman controller stood near the door a dracon in her hand. Before we could think she shot another one. One coming straight for me and Rachel. We weren't going to get out of the way in time. "NOOOOOOOOO!" I heard Marco cry. Suddenly there was a flash of blue and we were tackled to the floor. I lay there with Rachel in my arms for a few seconds afraid to move. Then I looked up. Marco was lying on top of us. He had tackled me and Rachel out of the way. Ax stood over the fallen body of the controller his tail blade quivering. I looked up at Marco, "Thanks Marco...man, that was a close one." He nodded weakly, "Yeah, yeah, it was." He slowly stood up and helped us to our feet. Rachel smiled, "Thanks Marco you saved our lives." Marco nodded tiredly, "No problem." Erek looked from us to the controller, "NOW can we get out of here?" I laughed, "Yeah, sure Erek. Let's go." Ax trotted to the nearby door, *This is the exit I believe.* "Alright, Ax, Erek? Why don't you go ahead? We'll just make sure that kandrona is turned off.....for good." Rachel muttered. Ax and Erek nodded and disappeared and Rachel snapped on a computer. "This is the main feed that controls the Kandrona all we need to do is to make a few adjustments and VOILA! Instant Yeerk stew." Rachel explained typing madly. When she was finished we turned to Marco. "Alright, now let's GO!" I cried. I started to turn but stopped dead in my tracks when I saw how pale Marco's face was. "Hey, Marco you okay?" I asked. He nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine. It's just been a long day that's all." He replied. I frowned skeptical. "Well, okay, whatever." We turned to leave and Marco stumbled. He collapsed weakly to the floor. "Marco!" Rachel cried falling down beside him. She pried his fingers away from his side, which I had just noticed he had been clutching. It revealed a bloody rip. "Marco! You've been shot! You got shot when you tackled us didn't you?" I cried. He nodded reluctantly. Rachel looked at me grimly and I knew right then and there Marco was going to die. ****************************************************************************************************** MARCO 

When you're dying nothing really matters anymore. Not even the fact that your dying. Rachel and Tobias looked at me as if I'd committed a cardinal sin not telling them that I had been shot. What I really didn't want to tell them was that I knew from the minute I'd entered the Yeerk pool that I wasn't going to get out alive. "Why didn't you say anything Marco?" Rachel cried. "I doesn't matter now Rachel...it just doesn't matter." Tobias looked at me with those big blue eyes of his and I knew he knew the truth, "You KNEW you were going to die today didn't you?" he muttered in an angry whisper. "It's my time Tobias. It's been my time for a long, long while." I answered. "Marco! It is not your time. You still can have a life. You still have us! You still have something to fight for!" Rachel whispered. "Marco died a long time ago Rachel. I'm still here today because I couldn't rest knowing you and Ax were one of *them*...It's over now Rachel, there's nothing left for me and you know that." I said quietly. "But why?" Rachel asked me tearfully. "Because it's a war and people die." I answered, I turned tiredly to Tobias, "take care of her Bird boy. I know you love her...you're a great friend. Thanks for staying with me all those years." Tobias nodded and slapped my hand, "Sleep well my friend." I turned to Rachel, "Goodbye Xena, I loved ya like a sister y'know. Listen to Tobias...that boy is crazy about you. And tell Erek and Ax, thanks..." Rachel wiped away some tears, "Yeah, okay Marco....Marco...goodbye brother." I nodded as my vision started to disappear and my friends faded away. Then there was light, beautiful light. I could hear Jake's voice and my mom's....calling me..calling me home. ****************************************************************************************************** TOBIAS I stood on a hill overlooking the city we had once called our home and looked down sadly at the final resting place of Marco, an Animorph, a fighter and a friend. His marble headstone spoke a single sentence: A friend who was never more loved or missed, he will live on forever. He was a man who's identity had been ripped away by a war he had been violently thrown into. For the last years of his life all he had seen was pain, failure and loneliness. His only memories of the past were nightmares....and yet, I would never ever forget him. I was upset about Marco's death but something in the back of my mind gnawed at me. Something told me I shouldn't be upset about Marco because he was in a better place now. He was happy. He was with Jake and his mom and dad. It's what he had wanted for years but because of bonds to me, Rachel and Ax he had stayed and fought. I looked down at Rachel who was crying softly in my arms. She looked up at me with tear streaked eyes. "He had to be the most annoying guy I ever met but I loved him." She whispered. I nodded solemnly, "Yeah, I loved him too." I gazed at the headstone and I swore I saw the laughing, smiling image of the Marco from years and years ago. The young, joking, smirking Marco I remembered. Marco laughed, "Go for it Bird boy, we're all watching." Then I looked down at Rachel and our eyes met, "And I love you." Rachel smiled, "I love you too Tobias, I always have." Our lips met and on that hill a girl and a bird finally admitted their undying love. It might be a relationship that will never be. I might stay a hawk forever and she'll always be a girl but for one moment in time that didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was that we were together. Yeah, we all change and sometimes it's not for the good. But change comes from many different places and in many different ways and it's all the way you look at it. Bad things happen but all things happen for a reason. It may rain now but in the spring there are beautiful flowers. We might have lost Marco, and we might have lost Jake and Cassie. But the world will be green again. I was ready to take change because despite the darkness of change, there is always light. We'd still keep fighting the battle. And one day, the Yeerks would fail. Rachel looked up at me, "Do you think we'll ever win?" She asked. "Yeah, we'll win." I answered staring to the sky, "Someday." Rachel nodded, "Someday." The light wind whipped around us and I could almost hear the laughter of five carefree kids from the past drifting to my ears. "Goodbye my friends." I called to the sky. ****************************************************************************************************** **Yet another corny story from MEEEEEEE! Well thanks for reading! You deserve a pat on the back for getting this far (; Send all comments to me at Renfield99@hotmail.com** 


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